Elbe Travel Guide

Said to have been featured on Ripley's Believe It or Not! As "The smallest Lutheran church in America!".

This beautiful 18 x 24 foot National Historical Monument sits on its original location in the beautiful foothills of Mt. Rainier. Because of its position on the highway travelers must use to reach Paradise in Mt. Rainier National Park, the church is "on the road to Paradise." The church quietly watches the town of Elbe Washington as it has since 1906. The church has a 4-foot iron cross on top of the 46-foot bell tower-steeple which houses its original bell. The church still contains many original items such as a Farrand and Votey bellows organ manufactured 1906 in Detroit Michigan, its original altar, one original pew, and the original "Klingelbeutel" (a small red velvet bag with a bell on it to collect offerings). The church still holds services every third Sunday of the month from March through November at 2:30pm.

2 more images

In 1980, the Milwaukee Road abandoned all track west of North Dakota. Much of the track was simply pulled up, but in certain other cases the lines were put to use for local needs. This included the line through Elbe, Washington. As the years went by, various equipment got moved around, a tourist railroad prospered along the highway here in Elbe, and by 1987 some of the equipment came to be converted into a dining room, bar and hotel.

As a general rule, the main dining car operates from 11 am to 7 pm, with the bar / lounge operating until 1 am. Hours may vary by season, as the traffic through town drops off severely during September with very little from late fall through spring.

By "Classic American Cuisine" they basically mean burgers and fries and other typical road side food. However, some of the unusual dishes here include Elk Burger, Buffalo Burger and Venison Burger along with the more typical cow burger. There is also a Porta Bella Mushroom burger.

The caboose and two passenger cars rebuilt and redecorated for stationary restaurant use are reasonably well decorated, but it is also obvious that they require a lot more upkeep and attention than a standard building would.

There is artwork on the walls from various local artists, and while you wait for your food (which does arrive fairly quickly once you get it ordered) you may want to wander through some of the cars and the hallway by the bathrooms, and the bathrooms themselves, to take a closer look at the paintings on the walls for sale.

Favorite Dish: I wanted to try the Elk Burger or Buffalo Burger, but alas those were out of stock. I instead had the Venison Burger, and thoroughly enjoyed it. The options include "homemade soup", fries, and a few other options for dishes to accompany the burger, but I settled for the "classic American cuisine" and ordered fries with the burger. Cheese adds $0.99 to the price.

The Ex-Nihilo Sculpture Park is located on the south side of highway 706, 3 miles east of Elbe. Just after crossing the second railroad line, look for a large steel giraffe. The "fee" to enter is a donation.

There is a spectacular assortment of sculpture here, created in the shadow of Mt. Rainier. Many, I'm afraid, go blasting past this sculpture park without having any idea that this wonderful little privately owned, but publicyly shared, park is here.

Oversize spiders, huge bicycles, a horse several times life size, and several trains are included in the sculptures found here. From the front yard of this rambling sculpture garden you will be able to see Mt. Rainier. Note carefully the photo: in the background you will see Mt. Rainier.